Clone Roundup II

In the second half of the Roundup, we'll take a look at all the Clones released in the ROTS line since I last wrote in May, as well as a reference guide to the swarm of recolors and reissues headed your way. Let's start!

Deluxe Clone Trooper 3-pack

Imagine the classic green plastic army men, only larger and less green. You get three different fixed-pose Clones- one standing, one kneeling, and one firing from a prone position. Interestingly, each Clone's backpack details and detailing are noticeably different from one another. These are being made with some variations- the pack I got in particular had a Standing Clone with rust-red deco, which will go pretty well with my Commander. I've heard of a blue-deco Prone Clone, and a green-deco Kneeling Clone as well. Rumor has it there will be a variant with one of each color, but I've yet to see it. I'd also like to see a set of matching Clones, other than the plain version.

Similarities- Um... they're Clones. And they have ball-jointed necks and swivel joints in the right wrists. That's about it.

Differences- Swivel shoulders. Swivel joints in the torso, above the waist. Fixed weapons. No joints below the belt.

Accessories- none, sort of. Each Clone has a weapon molded as part of their right hand. Standing Clone has a version of the Rifle included with #6, and Kneeling and Prone have the standard Blaster included with practically everything.

Rating- I'm going to say Not Applicable. Their jointing is so sparse that it's really not fair to rate them in the same way as other figures. They're essentially intended as scenery for large-scale battles, and in that capacity, they're Very Good- nicely sculpted, decorated, and posed. I'd recommend these before the Jet Pack Clone, but only because it's just plain bad. Nice pieces, but only worth owning for completists, diorama builders, and overzealous miniatures gamers.

#49- Commander Bacara

This is the first of the named Clone Commanders to be rendered in plastic. He's very similar to the first Commander in terms of appearance, with his added armor pauldron and waistcoat. He also has a fair bit of red, but it's far darker overall. His helmet is the most distinctive asset, featuring an extra layer of protection like the Tank Gunner, as well as a pair of gray flaps across the front and an antenna on the left side. However, this is all molded on, as opposed to the Tank Gunner's removeable extras. He's the first new Clone to share #6's Quick-Draw gimmick, but both his arms swing up for a nice rifle-shouldering effect. The skirt makes it hard to squeeze the legs hard enough to raise the arms though, particularly when using the Rifle.

Bacara has a swivel shoulder and elbow on the left arm, and no knees. I get it now that Hasbro is attempting to make each of their Clone releases arbitrarily unique. Or possibly, they're relying on appearance rather than engineering to sell the more distinctive Clones. Either way, I'm not terribly happy with the decision. They've set a pretty impressive standard with #s 6, 33, and 41, and they really ought to try living up to it on a consistent basis.

Similarities- Right arm, ankles, Quick-Draw feature, and weapons.

Differences- Head, extra armor, left arm, lack of knees. Double Quick-Draw effect.

Accessories-

Blaster: Same as #6.

Blaster Rifle: Also same as #6. Rifle stock is painted brown as with #6.

Rating- Good. He's not as well articulated as many of the others, but he is distinctive. However, generic Clone Commander is both distinctive and well-articulated, and there's no good reason Bacara couldn't have been.

#54- AT-RT Driver

At the end of the line we have a great figure, the AT-RT Driver. While I don't have and will probably never get the vehicle, they did at least make one, unlike the poor Tank Gunner's AT-TE. He's probably the furthest from the base Clone Trooper in terms of looks, and one of the closest in terms of articulation, adding a swivel waist that puts him just a notch below #41 for flexibility. In addition, all his accessories- for better or worse- are new. Weirdly enough, he's left-handed, where previous Clones have been right-handed or ambidextrous. I have no idea why the Emperor would want or need a left-handed Clone, but it still highlights the figure's individuality.

Similarities- He is still a Clone, though he's the most different-looking of all. All articulation is identical to #6, except for...

Differences- ...the swivel waist. He's a southpaw Clone. Accessories and color scheme are also new.

Accessories-

Blaster with sling: finally, a decent new Blaster! Broader but shorter than the standard Rifle yet longer than the standard Blaster, the Driver's Blaster has a plastic sling which doesn't fasten quite as securely as I'd like. You put the loop over the peg on the underside and it stays on- hopefully. It's kind of hard to get the Blaster in a decent pose with the sling over the shoulder (as shown on the card) without bending the left wrist somewhat.

Missile-firing Blaster Rifle: Okay, so he comes with a new-old weapon- a large missile-firing version of the ubiquitous Blaster Rifle. It's bigger, clunkier, and has a rubbery handgrip that can't quite support its own weight as well as I'd like. However, he can hold it relatively well, and his right hand was designed to brace it properly. Personally, I'd get a spare rifle from #33, who looks cooler with his twin pistols anyway, and give it to this guy.

Battle-damaged Breastplate: A slightly larger version of the figure's torso which clamps down over said torso. It's not too obtrusive- the color is slightly less glossy than the actual figure because the piece appears to be painted. Other than that, it just looks like AT-RT Driver was issued some extra-thick armor. Which would make sense since the AT-RT walker has an open cockpit. Last and most amazingly, the added armor doesn't restrict arm or waist movement in the least. I'll probably leave it off my figure, personally, but it's a nice bit of engineering.

Overall: Excellent. Only slightly less articulation than #41, more than any of the other Clones, new accessories and good-looking to boot.

Footnotes and Recolors

The Roundup has now covered all the major Clone Trooper molds in the Revenge of the Sith line. There are additional Clones available from Episode II, as well as an Evolutions pack featuring Troopers from Episodes II-IV. These have been excluded from Clone Roundup- otherwise, this article could well go on forever if Hasbro keeps cranking these guys out. Likewise, #34, the Clone Pilot, has been omitted because the figure is significantly different from the rest of the Clone Troopers, sharing no details or accessories with the standard armored Clone.

While those figures fall outside of the scope of this article, there are a number of Clone reissues and recolors coming up in the ROTS line proper. These all use existing bodies, with reissues retaining their original assortment numbers as well, and will be identified below:

Clone Trooper (#6) has been reissued with a red "Shock Trooper" color scheme seen under direct command of the Emperor near the end of the film.

Clone Commander (#33) has been reissued with green markings in place of the initial red.

Commander Bly (#57) also shares the #33 mold with a new yellow deco scheme. He is seen with Aayla Secura in the film.

Commander Gree (#59) can be seen with Yoda on the planet Kashyyyk. He is from the #41 mold with the addition of #54's missile-firing Blaster Rifle.

Tactical Ops Trooper (#65) is from the now-infamous 501st Legion, under the command of none other than Darth Vader. It shares a mold with #38, less the Tanker accessories, and comes with the same stand the Royal Guards and many other ROTS figures were shipped with.

The Target-exclusive Clone Attack on Coruscant Battle Pack features a blue recolor of Commander Bacara (#49) and four recolored Deluxe Jetpack Clones, sans jetpacks. Ick.

The Kmart exclusive Jedi Temple Assault Battle Pack features 3 members of the 501st Legion using the original #6 mold- the removeable shoulder armor is now glued down, which may affect arm articulation somewhat.

Conclusion

And there you have it- a review of all the major body types, and a guide on where to find them. In my opinion, the best molds of the lot are #6, #41, #33, and #54. These four exemplify the best I believe the Star Wars line has to offer in terms of quality, articulation, and appearance. Outside of the Jetpack Clone, though, there are very few truly bad Clones to be had. While I'd like to see the #41- or #54-type articulation made the new standard, Hasbro and Lucasfilm have both done excellent jobs of giving variety and character to a set of characters whose very existence and name scream "generic."

While there are quite a few other fine figures to be had in this line, the Clones stand out to me as some of the best, and it's worth it to the casual toy or Star Wars fan to have at least one.

RAC, 11/1/2005